Dry January: a new type of fasting

For those of you who know us or who have been following our blog for any amount of time, you know that we are big fans of fasting. We’ve experimented with everything from intermittent fasting all the way up to prolonged fasting of several days. In the past we’ve also experimented with fasting from things other than food, such as technology or social media. We are now hearing more and more about fasting as a tool to improve the health of your mind and body. Although many people have been slow to recognize the incredible power of fasting (in all its forms), I’m glad they are finally starting to come around!

With a new year, we are embarking on a new challenge, and this time a new type of fasting: the Dry January. Quite simply, this is just abstaining from alcohol–in any of its forms or strengths–for the first month of the year. While for some this will be a great challenge, for others it’s not that big of a deal; after all, some 20% of Americans don’t drink alcohol at all.

But for the two of us, alcohol has been a regular and relatively benign part of our lives, both centered around the dinner table and socially. Fortunately we’ve never had any tendencies towards alcohol addiction, so regular and very reasonable consumption has never been a problem for us. Over the past few years and a few trips to Napa Valley, I’ve even become somewhat obsessed with wine and pairings. Even more recently I’ve found and embraced the beauty and simplicity of a fine anjeo tequila or bourbon. But I think it’s time to give all of that up for a while…

The benefits of a dry January are relatively straightforward: quite simply alcohol is a toxin with mind/mood altering capabilities, and avoiding it will benefit your overall health. You might ask, “if alcohol is a dangerous and toxic substance, why drink it at all?” That’s a fair question, and the only way to assess the pros and cons adequately is to give it up for a while and see how much you miss it. I predict I’ll drink again after January (maybe even on Feb 1st). But evidence suggest that abstaining for even just a month has downstream benefits including reducing consumption and increasing awareness about the less obvious effects of alcohol such as its impairment of sleep quality.  And the icing on the cake? You save money too!

For us, this is another challenge and one that we are ready to embrace.  While I’ll surely miss a nice glass of Cabernet with my steak or feel a bit awkward turning down a drink at a social event, I’m eager to form a new healthier habit this year.